Chicken screen door?

[naturemom]

I'm going to make a small chicken tractor with a doghousefor the henhouse part to keep my chickies in temporarily until I can build them a bigger, nicer one. I'm a bit concerned about it getting hot and stuffy in there when they're closed in for the night, so I got to thinking: maybe I should make a sort of "screen door" out of hardware cloth to cover the doorway so they can have some fresh air on warm nights, but still be protected from predators. Would that work?

 

[mudhen]

I've been thinking of doing the same thing myself! I think it would work.
Anybody else try this?

 

[Poison Ivy]

I just went this weekend and bought a screen door and put it on my coop. It was reaching temps of 105* inside with all 4 windows open. So I bought a 20" fan & a full size screen door and covered it with hardware cloth. It helped the temps inside its now around 80*-90* in the late afternoon. I have a locking latch so it can't be pushed open. Now I can leave the main door open and let the air flow through the coop all day. I shut the main door back at 8 when they go in for the night. Its working out great wish i had thought of it last year.

 

[TreyClark281]

i have one big door on the side of my coop that i kept open and i had another side open to but i closed it and my chicken's door is screened too b/c i live in houston i know that im going to open another side so i think im going to make it removable.

 

[speckledhen]

I retrofitted the inside of part of storage shed into another coop and put a screen door made with 2x2's and hardware cloth. The original solid double doors close up for the night, but when I open them, the screen door is there and makes for great light and ventilation.

 

[BeckyLa]

I don't have a pic, but I have a dog house with just one hen, in recovery, in her own pen. I built a door for it and cut out the center and put hardware cloth on. It works fine though I am thinking there should also be a slit on the back just under the roof with hardware cloth for cross ventilation.